Management Information System

The SAVIX is based on a standardised management information system developed by VSL Associates, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Oxfam America and Plan International.

The VSL Associates Management Information System is available HERE and is fully functional as a stand-alone MIS solution for agencies that promote savings groups.

Versions 3.02 forward of the MIS are also compatible with the SAVIX and enable users to upload their data directly to the site.

Facilitating Agency

Savings groups have historically been promoted through a facilitating agency that mobilises and trains groups directly or through a network of local partner organisations. The facilitating agency – or its partners – train and supervise the operations of a savings group over a period of about one, after which groups become independent.

At the outset, training and supervision is usually conducted by paid staff but most facilitating agencies rapidly devolve training and supervision responsibilities to community-based village agents who reside in the local area and continue to implement the initiative beyond the end of an externally-funded programme.

This ensures the long-term availability of local training resources that do not require continued external financing.

Project

A project is a cluster of savings groups, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand groups. A project represents a local office of a facilitating agency or its local partner organisation. The management information system is maintained at the level of the project; and a project represents the basic unit of reporting on this site.

Data Upload and Reporting

The MIS has a simple data export tool that enables project administrators to upload their data directly to the site, either through a facilitating agency or directly, to a location created by a facilitating agency. The SUMMARY GUIDE FOR FACILITATING AGENCIES provides detailed instructions for the activation of a new project, maintenance of an existing project profile and the upload of data.

Data is reported on a quarterly basis and active projects may upload their data up to 45 days following the end of each quarter. The system will only accept the upload of complete MIS data files during the reporting period and will reject any file that is incomplete or contains data entry errors identified by the MIS.

Data Rating

A data validation tool is embedded in the MIS to prevent the entry of impossible data and improve data quality in general. The SAVIX also invites all projects and facilitating agencies to have their data rated. The level of data quality for each project is indicated through a system of stars. Using a standard data accuracy measurement tool, projects are assessed by the SAVIX and receive one to four stars based on the measured accuracy of its primary records at the level of the group and field staff.

Data ratings provide practitioners, donors and industry observers an objective evaluation of the completeness and accuracy of projects’ self-reported data. For more information on dating ratings, please CONTACT US